happy flower qal week 35

Another block with inset seams that is just sooooo worth the effort.  I made this 100% by machine.  And it went together quick and easy.  The trick is accuracy - accurate cutting of both template and fabric, accurate marking of the 1/4" seam starts and stops, and then shortening your stitch length (I go from 2.3 to 1.5) to help you hit that 1/4" mark exactly at the end of every seam.

There is a block near the end of this quilt with holly berries, so I decided to make these berries hot pink. Gosh do I ever love a pretty little sprig!

happy flower qal week 34

I like finding opportunities to use the same print in different colours in the same block. This - to me - is the equivalent of Saturday-Nite-Dance-Party fun. :)

This is another block I did months ago - before the QAL started.  I was super happy to find fabrics in my stash that were so close to the original.

happy flower qal week 33

My middle seam is a bit off - after the second try to get it perfect - so my center isn't quite as spot on as I'd like it to be.  But sometimes good enough is ... good enough. ;)

I bought some more Atsuko fabrics from Sunny Day Supply - fantastic shop. This happy yellow strawberry print is ideal for this quilt.

happy flower qal week 32

Starting this week with yet another redo.  Block #4.  The background I chose before was too ... loud.  So I just picked a calmer background (and changed the leaves). Much better. :)

Ugh.  Why do I do this to myself?  I was all happy with this block until I noticed that a cluster of roses in the big blue square runs into the busiest triangle (top right).  Now all I see is a big mashy mashup in that section.  If I'd noticed that before I sewed it together, I'd have swapped the two strawberry triangles.  But I didn't notice it.  And now I'm doomed to live with this blob in a block forever.  'Cause I ain't got time to placate ALL of my nutty O.C.D. tendencies. (sigh)

(That said, the original block here has the same mashy mushy thing going on too ... maybe I'm just an overthinker who needs to just calm the heck down.)

I don't have any amazing large scale prints like this one.  But I have lots of pretty little ones! :)

UPDATE:  I ca ved and redid the block after writing the post ... all I can say now is aaaaaaaaaah :)

first romance (and new patterns) are finally here!

I found out yesterday that bolts and bolts of my fabric collection have left the Moda warehouse and are on their way to a quilt shop near you!  It was just over a year ago that I started working with Moda so this day has been a long time coming.  I simply could NOT be a happier camper. :)

And I have a few more new patterns to inspire you.

These three patterns all started from the same kernel of inspiration.  Way back when I was doing the Farmer's Wife QAL (doesn't that seem like a lifetime ago?) there were a few blocks that kind of got stuck in my head.  One of those blocks was called Flock of Birds. I probably only remember it because - as you may remember - my sister is an avid birder so all things bird-ish remind me of her.

When I started thinking about patterns to design for you with First Romance, that bird block fluttered to mind. Then I started thinking about that massive swarming of birds - like the kind you see on a documentary about Planet Earth or something ... you know what I mean.  So I began messing around with the traditional block and that idea.  And this is what I came up with!

Now don't be deceived by the seemingly haphazard arrangement of the birds.  Look carefully and you'll see that there is a pattern - smaller groups of birds are flying in the same direction.  And the directions change gently to swirl around the quilt. :)

I sought my sisters help to name this pattern and she said that swarming flock motion is called "murmuration".  Hmmm.  Although fascinating, and technically correct, it didn't grab me as name for a quilt.  Then she suggested that murmuration is most often associated with Starlings.  OK!  I can definitely work with that! :)

The mini quilt is pretty self explanatory - just a handful or birds on a blue sky.

A dear friend who made this mini quilt for me calls it "Tiffany Blue". :)

And them I love this Lovebird tote.  Just one white bird on a field of either scraps or blue (or whatever you like, really).  I couldn't resist appliqueing a heart from one of the prints in the beak (you could totally use a button instead, or omit it altogether) and then I slipped the quote from the selvage "i heart you" next to the heart.

Links to these PDF patterns are just to the right here.  Hope you like them!

happy flower qal week 31

I have another redo block to show you today.  This is the first block and ... just wasn't in love love with it. But I sure am now! :)

Ok. I really had to do this for myself ... make a block entirely with my own fabric (due to hit shops this month I hope!). And it had to be this block. My quilting life began with a series of EPP hexagon quilts and it will always be my favourite quilting shape.

Kinda having a love/not-so-much-love relationship with this block.  The design is fine, just don't know if I like the fabrics I chose together.  I'll have to wait and see how it looks with all the blocks together.  It might look great.  Or it might stick out like a sore thumb. I'm definitely prepared to remake if necessary.  Or maybe it just needs a different center?